Bike game is a 2d side-scrolling motorbike game, in which the goal is for the player to traverse levels. The game features a graphical level editing system, with a human readable save file format.
Level editing software is an important part of game development, and can also be a catalyst for the growth of a community around a game if distributed. As such it is important to understand which level editing modalities users prefer most to ensure they can achieve their goals to the greatest effect. Not only this, but better level editors can enable more creativity and freedom for level designers, resulting in better levels. As such, this study aims to create a better understanding of level editing software by first understanding which level editing modality users prefer.
To achieve this, a 2D side scrolling motorbike game was created. It features both an integrated graphical level editor, and an external editor feature which allows for the use of a text editor to create levels. A convenience sample of participants were asked to create a level using both modalities, they then filled in a questionnaire for each, recording their experiences. These results were then compared to determine which modalities users preferred.
The results show that all participants individually preferred the Graphical Level editor, however, not all participants disliked the Text based level editor. Some found it somewhat easy to use, while others found it very difficult, while all participants found the Graphical level editor easy to use. The results suggest that users prefer a Graphical Level Editor, however, a mixed approach that focuses mainly on Graphical editing with some text based features included may be better.
Areas where further research could be conducted are then discussed, with the aim of providing a broader and more concrete understanding of this topic.